If you discount the hassle of their nightmarish parking, these would be my top four:
Greek Theatre (Los Angeles)
Pacific Amphitheatre (Costa Mesa, CA)
Hollywood Bowl (Los Angeles)
Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre (nee:
Irvine Meadows)
As far as INDOOR venues:
Carpenter Center (on the campus of CSU Long Beach) just went for the first time this past Saturday...great place, even the back row at the top is only about 30-40 feet from the stage (horizontally), it's pretty high up, though. (Ok, could be clouded by the fact that from where I live now, I can WALK there)
Wiltern Theatre (Los Angeles) An old converted 30's Art Deco movie theatre...great sound everywhere, great sightlines even from high up in balcony. Parking used to be a bit of a hassle, but since they've completed a 5 story parking structure adjacent to the theatre, it's a whole lot better. A sample of who I've seen there:
Lindsey Buckingham (OotC tour)
The Allman Bros Band
Lyle Lovett
Concrete Blone
The Church
Wilshire Theatre (Los Angeles) Another old converted movie theatre (saw the premiere of the Who's
Tommy movie there back in the early '70s...been to a couple of concerts there in recent years. Like with the Wiltern, the addition of an adjacent parking structure improved the concert going experience there.
Gibson Amphitheatre (nee:
Universal Amphitheatre) (Los Angeles)
I DID like it a whole lot better when it was an open-air amphitheatre...the "charm" was gone when they enclosed it, but it is still a good venue.
Sample of who I've seen there:
Eric Clapton
Fleetwood Mac
Bob Welch
Randy Meisner
Electric Light Orchestra
Jimmy Buffett & The Coral Reefer Band
Clubs:
The Golden Bear (Huntington Beach) RIP
Best oncert venue (to me, anyway, since I never got to go to either Fillmores)....directly across PCH from the HB Pier. Sadly, the HB city council caved to pressure from developers in the early 80s and granted permits for "property improvement" and the Golden Bear's lease was canceled and the building destroyed in the name of "progress". A SHORT LIST of acts I saw there:
Walter Egan
John Stewart
John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (multiple times)
Rick Vito's Blue Moderne
BB King (multiple times)
Albert King (multiple times)
Muddy Waters
Albert Collins
Buddy Guy & Junior Wells
Peter Tosh
Etta James
Koko Taylor
The Roxy (West Hollywood...on the Sunset Strip) Good sight & sound from anywhere in the room. Parking is a hassle, though. And, maybe I might be a bit biased, since I played there myself a few times back in the mid/late 80s.
House Of Blues (Downtown Disney, Anaheim)
Saw Peter Green Splinter Group there....stood behind the sound board for most of the show...no better spot to be. Was up in the balcony for the opening act and sound was good, but there were many "visual obstructions".
Walnut Room (Denver, CO)
A bit biased here...my son-in-law is the Production Manager for the place. But, that aside....you can't get more than 40 feet from the stage or you'd be out in the parking lot. The sound is great, the sightlines are awesome. The only downside: Depending on the act, seating could be a problem, though, since it's mainly standing room only (just a few cocktail tables w/ barstools...from what I hear pretty much like the Fillmore East & West of the 60's), so if you can't stand for long stretches of time, you probably wouldn't have a good time.
Arenas:
Long Beach Arena (Long Beach, CA)
Close to home and the acts I saw there are some of the greatest of all time, so I may be remembering the place from THAT standpoint rather than the quality of the venue itself. The city council banned concerts there in the mid 80s, relented for a couple of special occasions (Ozzy w/Black Sabbath & The Ramones....and the Beastie Boys, post-concert semi-riots occurred both times...so once again concerts were banned)
Some of who I've seen there:
Eric Clapton (three times)
Led Zeppelin
ZZ Top (pre-beards)
Fleetwood Mac (Heroes Are Hard To Find tour)
Paris (Bob Welch's post FMac band)
Little Feat
Ten Years After
Gary Wright (anyone remember "Dreamweaver")
Santana
Van Halen (prior to their first album)
Edgar Winter Group
Climax Blues Band
Slade
The Motels
X
Los Lobos
Bachman Turner Overdrive
Wishbone Ash
The Great Western Forum (Inglewood CA)
IF you have seats BELOW the walkway or on the floor, where the sound from the stage is impeccable; above the walkway and the sound from the stage degrades sharply the higher you get)
Honda Center (nee:
Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim CA)
Been to five or six shows there and had seats in various locations & heights...good sound everywhere (for a sports arena). Parking not TOO bad....it helped that I only lived 2.5 miles away (by streets...about a mile as a crow flies) from the place most of the times I went there.